Staple guide for securing bristles of a brush to a brush handle



M14, 1969 .LGIAUMGARTNERK v 3,430,281

suns sums I'OR sacun'zlq ants-runs pr A anusn To A anusu muons rim an, 22. 1968 I INVENTOR mam United States Patent 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A plastic brush handle has an integrally molded bristle receiving socket in one end of it. Guide grooves are oppositely disposed from one another on opposite walls of the socket. The brush bristles are mounted in the socket by inserting a staple, around which the bristles are looped, and fastening the staple to the brush handle. The grooves act to guide the staple along the walls of the socket until it is fastened to the handle.

Background 0] the invention Many small brushes, e.g., complexion brushes, use handles having relatively thin cross-sections. A problem has existed in these types of brushes of providing an economical way to fasten the brush bristles to the brush handles. In some applications multi-piece brush handles are used wherein the brush bristles are cemented by epoxy to a solid plug around which is fastened a brass sleeve from which the bristles extend. A handle is cemented to the plug. The complexity of assembling these many pieces and the long drying time for epoxy has made production of these brushes costly in relation to the price for which they may be sold.

Stapling of bristles to a brush handle is a proven economical way of manufacturing a relatively inexpensive, yet quality brush. Sta-pling, however, presents a problem in small brushes where the bristle holding cavity is surrounded by walls having a relatively thin cross-section. In these brushes the staples become misaligned when driven into the cavity and penetrate the thin walls of the cavity housing causing the brush to be rejected.

Summary of the invention It is an object of this invention to provide a brush which is assembled from a minimum of parts and which does not require the use of epoxy during assembly thereby reducing assembly time and costs.

It is another object of this invention to reduce the rejection rate of brushes of the type wherein brush bristles are fastened to the brush handle by staples, by eliminating the penetration of the thin walls of the bristle cavity by the staples.

In one embodiment of this invention the brush has an integrally molded handle and bristle receiving socket. The socket is defined by oppositely positioned wall portions of a relatively thin cross-section. A staple is used to secure the brush bristles to the handle. A staple guide in the form of first and second grooves disposed on opposite walls of the socket extend from the socket openings substantially to the bottom thereof. Subsequently, when the staple is inserted into thte socket the grooves guide the staple along the socket walls unil it is anchored in the brush handle, thereby preventing the staple legs from going askew and penetrating the socket walls.

Description of the drawings FIG. 1 is a front elevation of the brush in accordance with this invention;

3,430,281 Patented Mar. 4, 1969 FIG. 2 is an enlarged front elevation in cross-section of a portion of the brush shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side elevation in cross-section of the brush shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged front elevation view in crosssection similar to that shown in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged end view of the brush shown in FIG. 1, without the bristles.

Detailed description Referring to the drawing, FIG. 1 illustrates a relatively small brush such as a complexion brush which includes a molded plastic handle 10 from which protrudes the brush bristles 12.

FIGS. 2 through 5 illustrate the unique assembly used in mounting the brush bristles 12 within the handle 10. Integrally molded within the handle 10 is a bristle receiving socket or cavity 14 that extends longitudinally along the axis of handle 10. The cavity opening 16 is defined by oppositely disposed walls 17, 18, 19 and 20 (FIG. 5) having a relatively thin cross-section. The bristles 12 are assembled into the bristle receiving socket 14 and fixed to the handle 10 by staple 25. The use of staples for fastening bristles to a brush handle is known and is described, for instance, in my Patent 2,348,515, issued May 9, 1944.

The relatively thin cross-section of the walls 18 and 20 surrounding the cavity 114 make it extremely diflicult to insert the staple 25 into the handle .10 in the conventional manner. That is, when the staple is driven into the socket 14 with sufiicient force to fasten it to handle 10, it tends to become misaligned, which results in one of the staple legs 28 or 29, or both, penetrating the cavity wall and causing the brush to be rejected. To overcome this problem, I devised integrally molded guide grooves 30 and 32 on oppositely disposed walls 20 and 18 ofthe handle 10.

In assembling the brush, the staples are inserted into the cavity 14 with each of the leg portions 28 and 29 respectively being fitted into respective grooves 30 and 32.

These grooves 30 and 32 extend essentially from the outer end 16 of the cavity 14 parallel to the handle axis to the bottom 35 of the cavity. The grooves guide the staple along the cavity walls in its journey through the cavity and insure that the leg portions 28 and 29 are substantially normal to the bottom 35 of the cavity when they are inserted into the plastic handle 10. The grooves, therefore, guide the staple and prevent it from going askew in the cavity and penetrating the cavity walls.

The use of the staple for joining the bristles 12 to the handle 10 has made it possible to make a brush which essentially uses two pieces, the molded handle with the integral bristle cavity, and the bristles joined together by a staple. The shape of the cavity is not limiting and could, for instance, be rectangular or round.

In summary, therefore, the unique idea of providing grooves in the bristle retaining cavity of a brush handle so that staples may be used to assemble the bristles within the cavity has effected substantial savings. In essence, it has eliminated requirements of multi-piece brush handles and bristle receiving cavities wherein epoxy is used to fasten the bristles within the cavity and has permitted rapid brush assembly using staples.

I claim:

1. A brush including a handle having a bristle receiving socket therein comprising an opening in one end of said handle and being defined by oppositely positioned wall portions of a relatively thin cross-section and a bottom, said socket having a bristle portion therein, a staple having first and second leg portions, said staple being inserted in said socket and retaining said bristle portion in said socket with said first and second leg portions extending axially of said handle and being imbedded therein substantially normal to said bottom of said socket, and first and second grooves oppositely disposed on opposite wall portions of said socket, each said groove extending from the opening of said socket to substantially the bottom thereof, each said leg portion of said staple being received in a respective groove and being guided thereby through said socket, said grooves keeping said leg portions of said staple normal to said bottom and axially of said handle to prevent the same from penetrating said Wall portions with the staple being imbedded into said handle.

2. The brush of claim 1 wherein said handle and said socket are integrally molded, and each said groove being formed by first and second rib portions being molded in said socket and extending axially of said handle.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,448,744 3/1923 Hastings 15195 2,558,334 6/1951 Baurngartner 15159 2,796,622 6/1957 Kalinowski 15-490 XR 2,913,756 11/1959 MacFarland 15206 XR FOREIGN PATENTS 634,161 1/1962 Canada. 371,301 4/1932 Great Britain.

PETER FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

